Seattle Foundation

What is the Youth Grantmaking Board?

The Seattle Foundation’s Youth Grantmaking Board (YGB) was established in the fall of 2006 to help young people use philanthropy to effect positive change in their community. The 2018-2019 Board is comprised of 21 students from the greater Seattle area and is committed to supporting programs and services that help individuals and families in King County. Through training and collaboration with Seattle Foundation staff and community experts, the YGB performs the same functions as other special-grants committees: assessing community needs, developing a request for proposal, reviewing grant applications, conducting site visits, and making final funding recommendations to the Seattle Foundation Board of Trustees. The members of the YGB change every year, so although the
focus of the funding is on programs serving youth, each Board defines the
specific needs that the grants will address every year. In order to define
these needs, YGB members carefully review elements that make up a healthy
community and cross reference their interests, information from local experts,
and urgent current events to define their priority area.

2019 Grant Funding Available: $20,000

YGB will consider all funding requests of up to $20,000
though we recommend that proposals are at a minimum of $5000.

The YGB will award one to three one-time, one-year grants during the spring 2019 funding cycle.

2019 Youth Grantmaking Board Funding Priorities

There is a homeless crisis in Seattle and in our region.
Youth homelessness hits very close to home for us. We all know someone, or are
at least one connection away, from someone who experiences housing instability.
Not only is housing a basic need and right, but it impacts all facets of one’s
quality of life including the ability to seek better education, find meaningful
careers and contribute to a stronger community. We also understand that
systemic racism and institutional barriers, often beyond the control of the
individual, have deepened the homeless crisis and disproportionately affects
youth, people of color, LGBTQ+ and others.

The Youth Grantmaking Board invites proposals from established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, or those under the fiscal sponsorship of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, focused on reducing homelessness and its related issues amongst youth and other communities in King County. We invite proposals that are high priority for your organization and community, but perhaps may have not been resourced through other public/private resources. We are interested in creative and different ways of addressing the homeless issue.

Additionally, we understand that we must tackle the issue of homelessness from many strategies including: prevention, direct service provision, increased youth leadership and upstream advocacy/policy change. We are interested in seeing proposals that reflect what make sense to your community at this current moment.

The YGB will give priority to programs or projects that:

Focus on youth of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities

Reflect the communities they serve in leadership positions and/or at the organization's board of directors

Led by smaller organizations generally at $500,000 or less in annual budget

Have a clear timeline and program or project focus (versus general operating support)

Schedule and Submission

The YGB Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released on March 4, 2019. All proposals must be received by 5:00pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The YGB will review proposals, contact organizations for more information as needed and conduct site visits to selected agencies in April 2019. Final grant decisions will be made in late April and recipients will be notified at that time. Recipients will also be invited to attend the YGB Celebration Event in early June 2019 at Seattle Foundation offices. The duration of project funding is July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020. If you forecast any delay in submission or have questions, please contact Shannon Kopelva and/or Aileen Balahadia at ygb@seattlefoundation.org.

Required Information

• Grant Cover Sheet .• Program narrative (maximum three pages).• Documentation of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (from organization or fiscal sponsor).• Easy-to-read proposed program or project budget.• If applicable, please include a short financial narrative explaining any shifts in fundraising strategies.• Current year organizational operating budget.

Program Narrative

In no more than three pages, please provide the following information:• Briefly describe your organization and its mission.• Describe how your organization or program addresses the YGB’s funding priorities, including an outline of your approach and what you are hoping to accomplish during this funding period.• Briefly explain how you anticipate on utilizing your requested dollar amount.• Describe the population that will be served through this request and how those individuals are involved in your decision-making strategies. How many individuals were impacted by your work last year? How many do you anticipate will be impacted as a result of YGB funding?• What percentage of your staff and board of directors are people of color or represent a specific population?• Identify any collaborative partnerships.• Describe how you evaluate this effort, including the criteria that you use to gauge success.• Indicate if you are a recent grantee of Seattle Foundation’s Resiliency Fund, Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N), or Vibrant Democracy Initiative.

Grant Period and Reporting Requirements

July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020. A final report will be required of each grantee. The YGB Alumni group may wish to conduct a mid-year impact assessment and site visit.

Eligibility

• Applicant organizations must be located in King County and must qualify as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service Code or be fiscally sponsored by one.• Have an average annual operating budget of $500,000 or less in the last three years.• Organizations with religious affiliations will be considered for grants only if their activities address the needs of the wider community without regard to religious beliefs. Proposed projects may not contain content or activities that proselytize, even when participation in such activities is voluntary.• The YGB will not consider grant requests for the following: Individuals; Organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief; Fundraising events such as walk-a-thons, tournaments, auctions and general fundraising solicitations; Conference or seminar expenses; or Scholarship or endowment funds.

Youth Grantmaking Board RFP

What is the Youth Grantmaking Board?

The Seattle Foundation’s Youth Grantmaking Board (YGB) was established in the fall of 2006 to help young people use philanthropy to effect positive change in their community. The 2018-2019 Board is comprised of 21 students from the greater Seattle area and is committed to supporting programs and services that help individuals and families in King County. Through training and collaboration with Seattle Foundation staff and community experts, the YGB performs the same functions as other special-grants committees: assessing community needs, developing a request for proposal, reviewing grant applications, conducting site visits, and making final funding recommendations to the Seattle Foundation Board of Trustees. The members of the YGB change every year, so although the
focus of the funding is on programs serving youth, each Board defines the
specific needs that the grants will address every year. In order to define
these needs, YGB members carefully review elements that make up a healthy
community and cross reference their interests, information from local experts,
and urgent current events to define their priority area.

2019 Grant Funding Available: $20,000

YGB will consider all funding requests of up to $20,000
though we recommend that proposals are at a minimum of $5000.

The YGB will award one to three one-time, one-year grants during the spring 2019 funding cycle.

2019 Youth Grantmaking Board Funding Priorities

There is a homeless crisis in Seattle and in our region.
Youth homelessness hits very close to home for us. We all know someone, or are
at least one connection away, from someone who experiences housing instability.
Not only is housing a basic need and right, but it impacts all facets of one’s
quality of life including the ability to seek better education, find meaningful
careers and contribute to a stronger community. We also understand that
systemic racism and institutional barriers, often beyond the control of the
individual, have deepened the homeless crisis and disproportionately affects
youth, people of color, LGBTQ+ and others.

The Youth Grantmaking Board invites proposals from established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, or those under the fiscal sponsorship of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations, focused on reducing homelessness and its related issues amongst youth and other communities in King County. We invite proposals that are high priority for your organization and community, but perhaps may have not been resourced through other public/private resources. We are interested in creative and different ways of addressing the homeless issue.

Additionally, we understand that we must tackle the issue of homelessness from many strategies including: prevention, direct service provision, increased youth leadership and upstream advocacy/policy change. We are interested in seeing proposals that reflect what make sense to your community at this current moment.

The YGB will give priority to programs or projects that:

Focus on youth of color, veterans, LGBTQ+ and other marginalized communities

Reflect the communities they serve in leadership positions and/or at the organization's board of directors

Led by smaller organizations generally at $500,000 or less in annual budget

Have a clear timeline and program or project focus (versus general operating support)

Schedule and Submission

The YGB Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released on March 4, 2019. All proposals must be received by 5:00pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2019. The YGB will review proposals, contact organizations for more information as needed and conduct site visits to selected agencies in April 2019. Final grant decisions will be made in late April and recipients will be notified at that time. Recipients will also be invited to attend the YGB Celebration Event in early June 2019 at Seattle Foundation offices. The duration of project funding is July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020. If you forecast any delay in submission or have questions, please contact Shannon Kopelva and/or Aileen Balahadia at ygb@seattlefoundation.org.

Required Information

• Grant Cover Sheet .• Program narrative (maximum three pages).• Documentation of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status (from organization or fiscal sponsor).• Easy-to-read proposed program or project budget.• If applicable, please include a short financial narrative explaining any shifts in fundraising strategies.• Current year organizational operating budget.

Program Narrative

In no more than three pages, please provide the following information:• Briefly describe your organization and its mission.• Describe how your organization or program addresses the YGB’s funding priorities, including an outline of your approach and what you are hoping to accomplish during this funding period.• Briefly explain how you anticipate on utilizing your requested dollar amount.• Describe the population that will be served through this request and how those individuals are involved in your decision-making strategies. How many individuals were impacted by your work last year? How many do you anticipate will be impacted as a result of YGB funding?• What percentage of your staff and board of directors are people of color or represent a specific population?• Identify any collaborative partnerships.• Describe how you evaluate this effort, including the criteria that you use to gauge success.• Indicate if you are a recent grantee of Seattle Foundation’s Resiliency Fund, Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N), or Vibrant Democracy Initiative.

Grant Period and Reporting Requirements

July 1, 2019–June 30, 2020. A final report will be required of each grantee. The YGB Alumni group may wish to conduct a mid-year impact assessment and site visit.

Eligibility

• Applicant organizations must be located in King County and must qualify as tax-exempt under the Internal Revenue Service Code or be fiscally sponsored by one.• Have an average annual operating budget of $500,000 or less in the last three years.• Organizations with religious affiliations will be considered for grants only if their activities address the needs of the wider community without regard to religious beliefs. Proposed projects may not contain content or activities that proselytize, even when participation in such activities is voluntary.• The YGB will not consider grant requests for the following: Individuals; Organizations that discriminate on the basis of age, race, national origin, ethnicity, gender, disability, sexual orientation, political affiliation or religious belief; Fundraising events such as walk-a-thons, tournaments, auctions and general fundraising solicitations; Conference or seminar expenses; or Scholarship or endowment funds.